The present invention relates to grills, specifically to grills which generate cooking heat by burning combustible fuel such as charcoal or wood.
Grills have become seemingly ubiquitous fixtures at outdoor social gatherings, especially in warmer weather. Generally, grills commonly known as charcoal grills, cook food over a burning bed of fuel bits such as charcoal, and often include a lid used to cover the food and keep it warm.
Known charcoal grills provide various means for controlling temperature inside a charcoal grill. Some employ air vents, which regulate the flow of air through the charcoal grill and thereby control the rate at which the charcoal burns. However, air vents quickly become too hot to adjust during operation of the charcoal grill. Furthermore, air vents alone provide only the most rudimentary means of temperature control.
Other known charcoal grills control cooking temperature by making the distance between the burning coals and the food being cooked manually adjustable. Such charcoal grills employ lift mechanisms that adjust the height of a charcoal bearing grate without interrupting the operation of the charcoal grill. However, the lift mechanism found in such charcoal grills requires the user to physically lift a vertical column onto a series of vertical notches. This method is both inconvenient and dangerous. The lifting action requires a user to exert a certain degree of force, and exposes the user to a risk that the applied vertical force may cause the charcoal grill to tip or fall.
Ash builds up quickly during operation of a charcoal grill and excessive accumulation of ash will extinguish the burning coals. Disposing of ash while charcoal is still burning can be both inconvenient and hazardous. Known charcoal grills solve this problem by requiring the use of a sweeping tool to force ash through openings at the bottom of the charcoal grill. However, requiring the use of any additional tool makes a charcoal grill less portable and less convenient to use.
During ordinary use, the body of a charcoal grill is quickly and repeatedly reheated to high temperatures. Often, the charcoal grill is also quickly cooled, by dousing it with water, for example. Such rapid and extreme changes in temperature over time eventually result in damage to the body of a charcoal grill, such as cracks or fading of color. To lengthen the operational life of a charcoal grill, the design of the charcoal grill must provide the body of the charcoal grill with some protection against excessive temperature changes.
Thus, there exists a need in the art for a safer and more convenient way of adjusting the distance between the burning fuel and the food being cooked. Furthermore, there exists a need in the art for a more convenient way of disposing of ash during operation that does not require the use of an ash sweep tool. There also exists a need in the art for a feature that protects the body of a grill from excessive temperature changes.
A grill according to an exemplary embodiment of the present invention provides a fuel grate lift mechanism, whereby a user may adjust the vertical distance between a fuel grate and a cooking grid by rotating a control knob located on the surface of the charcoal grill. This mechanism provides a safer and more convenient way of adjusting the distance between the burning fuel and the food being cooked.
An embodiment of the present invention further provides a removable ash collector located at the bottom of a charcoal grill. To empty ash a user slides the ash collector out from its position at the bottom of the charcoal grill, empties it, and then replaces it to resume ash collection. Thus a user may conveniently dispose of ash without the use of an ash sweep tool and without interrupting operation.
Furthermore a charcoal grill according to an embodiment of the present invention incorporates a metal skirt inside its lower shell, which protects the lower shell of the charcoal grill from excessive heat, lengthening its operational life.